Arsenal affirm £75m Bruno Guimaraes switch from Newcastle as Arteta eyes extra signings
Bruno Guimaraes has completed his £75million transfer from Newcastle United to Arsenal, with the Brazilian midfielder signing a four-year contract with the option of a further year
Arsenal have signed Bruno Guimaraes(Image: Jose Breton/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
Arsenal have announced the capture of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United in a £75million deal. The Brazil international has penned a four-year deal with the option of an additional year and arrives as the Gunners’ fourth permanent signing this summer.
Sporting Director, Andrea Berta, said: “We are delighted to welcome Bruno Guimaraes to our club. Bruno is a player with a great mentality and great quality, who will bring strong leadership to our squad.
“With Bruno joining us, we are further strengthening the heart of our team. As we have all seen, Bruno can play as a defensive midfielder and as a box-to-box player. He combines quality with quantity, and has provided goals and assists for his team every year.
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“Bruno will allow Mikel to further develop our playing style and will also increase our internal competitiveness, which is essential for maintaining the standards required when we are aiming to win major trophies.”
Guimaraes, 28, became a priority target back in July. Talks continued for several weeks before Eddie Howe’s departure from St James’ Park appeared to accelerate the transfer, reports Football London.
Guimaraes turned up at Newcastle’s pre-season training camp in La Manga on Monday. The midfielder then quickly boarded another flight for his Arsenal medical, which he completed on Wednesday evening.
Bruno Guimaraes is Arsenal’s biggest signing of the summer(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
The price tag is notably steep considering his age and the reality that merely two years remained on his existing Newcastle contract.
Nevertheless, it’s a deal that certainly aligns with Arsenal’s ‘win-now’ strategy and represents the ideal acquisition following Mikel Arteta’s recent remarks on transfers.
He said: “A lot is happening. We all know about the context of this transfer window. From ownership to the board, the sporting director and myself, we know that we want to take this club to a different level.
Mikel Arteta wants more signings(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
“That is going to require a better squad, better individuals. We have identified where we have opportunities to grow, and to improve, and to evolve our game and what is going to be needed to achieve that. Hopefully, very soon we can start to put things in a very concrete way.”
After securing Guimaraes, a defender could now be pursued, with Ezri Konsa attracting attention following William Saliba’s injury setback.
Yet, there remains a substantial divide between Aston Villa’s £60million asking price and what the Gunners would be prepared to offer for the England international.
Arsenal will not be landing Vinicius Junior, who has now finalised a contract extension with Real Madrid. Having also missed out on Morgan Rogers, they might pivot to Bradley Barcola, whom the club have previously evaluated, despite Liverpool’s interest.
The Gunners also made enquiries about Yan Diomande before Madrid struck a deal to bring him in from RB Leipzig, and monitored Kerim Alajbegovic prior to his switch to Juventus. Ajax’s Mika Godts represents another wide player the club has assessed.
